Dong Chinese dictionary

xiǎn

visible, bright

Depicts threads of silk (𢇁) visible underneath the sun (日). 𢇁 also represents the sound.

Components

日 Iconic component

rì

sun

𢇁 Sound Iconic component

guān

run threads through a web

Depicts two twisted threads of silk.

㬎 and 𢇁 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.㬎 /*qʰˤenʔ/
𢇁 /*kroːn/

Evolution

Bronze script

Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

㬎

xiǎn

(an ancient form of 顯) motes in a sunbeam, bright, fibrous, to manifest; to display, to be illustrious, evident, to seem; to appear, cocoons; chrysalis, will not have a pleasant conversation; old variant of 顯|显[xiǎn]; visible; apparent

Component uses

Meaning component in 1 character (1 verified)

顯

Sound component in 3 characters (2 verified)

Sources